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Post subject: Dream Team Contest 6 - Results are out!
Editor, Reviewer, Skilled player (1352)
Joined: 9/12/2016
Posts: 1646
Location: Italy
I'm proud to announce the 6th Dream Team Contest! This is a TASing contest that takes place between teams that compete to create a TAS that completes the given game as fast as possible. Anyone can join by sending a post to this topic. The winning team will be engraved in Dream Team Contest history. Game info The game name will be revealed when the signing up time expires but some details are available now:
  • The game platform is Game Boy Advance.
  • The game genre is platformer.
  • The estimated TAS length is about 25 minutes.
Rules
  • You sign up as a 4-people team or you can request to be put in a team; you may optionally also provide a team name and a logo; after contest start, teams can't be changed.
  • On 21 Jan 23:59 UTC signing up time expires, game name will be revealed and the contest will start.
  • The emulator to use will be BizHawk 1.11.9.1 (or newer) using the mGBA core.
  • The teams must provide their movie file to dreamteamcontest6@gmail.com before 22 Apr 23:59 UTC; improvements of the run can be still submitted within the deadline; the deadline can be anticipated if all teams agree.
  • In the case an Arbitrary Code Execution/Memory Corruption/SRAM Gltich/Game End Glitch/Wrong Warp Glitch is discovered, competition will be held for both exploiting such a glitch as well as not using it.
  • The team that provides the movie file that completes the game from power-on to credits in the fastest time (input end) wins.
  • The winning team will submit its movie to TASVideos and anyone who will contribute will be added to the authors list.

Here are the current sign-ups. Note that individual player sign-ups have time until contest start (21 Jan 23:59 UTC) to decide or change their team; if they don't, they will randomly shuffled in 4-people teams; 3 or 2 if the players amount is not divisible for 4. Remember that team members, name and logo can be changed within the signing-up deadline. Team sign-ups * team members arbitrarily chosen by ThunderAxe31. Individual player sign-ups There are no invididual player sign-ups left. Sign-ups are closed. Teams which haven't still provided a name and a logo can still do so, but then it won't be changed or removed.
The game Zook Man ZX4 is an unlicensed GBA game by Fast Fame. Most game content is taken from Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X, while some enemies come from previous Zook Hero games. Most musics are remixes of songs found in Soul Falchion, although there are new original compositions made for the game. This game is fresh for TASing because of its past emulation issues. The currently last released version of BizHawk is literally the only TASing emulator able to run the game. The game can be played without any known problem thanks to mGBA 0.5 core, allowing to beat the game and trigger the credits. Checksums for the GBA ROM file
CRC-32: 8f47fa54
MD4: 04B3F9DD28B8B0FD58281530746E53FF
MD5: 9f966d8f9f2865e96a42eed33a201cde
SHA-1: F0B655C5B01870DA92C9EA84736CB005A4CC4F9C
Controls I decided to make the controls clear for people less familiar with Mega Man games, in order to avoid frustrating scenarios. I'm not going to give any more help.
  • A - Jump
  • A (on walls) - Climb wall
  • B - Shoot
  • B (keep) - Charge shoot
  • L or R - Change between available weapons
  • Left, Left (keep) or Right, Right (keep) - Dash (needs to be unlocked in a certain level)
  • Start - Open menu
Tips
  • Divide the tasks. Everyone has own strengths and weaknesses. Make your team members work on different jobs in order to improve efficiency. This is crucial.
  • Keep in contact. Use a private and secure chat group of your choice to talk with your teammates about your progress, discoveries, ideas, and share your files.
  • Play it a lot first. Game mechanics are easier to understand by playing the game casually, with some code cheating if necessary. Start TASing when you feel that you know enough.
  • Take note of everything. Any trick and glitch may come useful in a way or another, even if it does initially not seem. Also remember that your discoveries may come useful after the contest.
  • Try anything. Even after you've finished TASing the game, use the remaining time to try and improve the run. A sudden discovery can turn the tide of the contest.
  • Don't give up. I know this is going to be longest TASing contest until now, but remember that the journey, not the arrival, matters.
Also You may ask me for any kind of assistance, expecially if you're having troubles with TAStudio. You may contact me via both irc and forum PM. But of course, I'm not going to give any help about how to TAS the game. That said, I wish you all an awesome Dream Team Contest and I declare the contest started!
The result The contest is over. Here is the ranking: #8: Team 1 - "We Serve Fire Trucks" in 27:43.4 - YouTube encode - movie file #7: Team 2 - "MMMM" in 26:36.89 - YouTube encode - movie file #6: Team 11 - "ThunderBears" in 24:52.19 - YouTube encode - movie file #5: Team 5 - "We'll Hex the Name in Later" in 24:51.56 - YouTube encode - movie file #4: Team 7 in 24:27.73 - YouTube encode - movie file #3: Team 6 - "¯\_(ツ)_/¯" in 24:27.63 - YouTube encode - movie file #2: Team 3 - "Snail Eaters" in 23:23.47 - YouTube encode - movie file #1: Team 4 in 23:20.16 - YouTube encode - movie file Click here for the YouTube playlist And here is a table comparing the completion times of every level sections. Thanks to all contestants for participating and congratulations to Team 4 for winning the contest!
my personal page - my YouTube channel - my GitHub - my Discord: thunderaxe31 <Masterjun> if you look at the "NES" in a weird angle, it actually clearly says "GBA"
Noxxa
They/Them
Moderator, Expert player (4107)
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4089
Location: The Netherlands
I'm in. Will see what I can muster for a team :) EDIT: Here we go.
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Samsara
She/They
Senior Judge, Site Admin, Expert player (2098)
Joined: 11/13/2006
Posts: 2821
Location: Northern California
Wow, this came outta nowhere. Count me in too.
TASvideos Admin and acting Senior Judge 💙 Currently unable to dedicate a lot of time to the site, taking care of family. Now infrequently posting on Bluesky
warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Editor, Player (174)
Joined: 4/7/2015
Posts: 331
Location: Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
I'm definitely in! 2 months is a nice amount of time to study the game and optimize the TAS
Games are basically math with a visual representation of this math, that's why I make the scripts, to re-see games as math. My things: YouTube, GitHub, Pastebin, Twitter
Editor, Expert player (2088)
Joined: 8/25/2013
Posts: 1200
In, I am. (lolajodajokefuckingchrist)
effort on the first draft means less effort on any draft thereafter - some loser
Tompa
Any
Editor, Expert player (2213)
Joined: 8/15/2005
Posts: 1940
Location: Mullsjö, Sweden
This is an obvious yes, of course.
Alyosha
He/Him
Editor, Emulator Coder, Expert player (3806)
Joined: 11/30/2014
Posts: 2827
Location: US
sounds fun please sign me up!
Masterjun
He/Him
Site Developer, Skilled player (1986)
Joined: 10/12/2010
Posts: 1185
Location: Germany
I didn't know there was a Metal Force GBA version !?!?
Warning: Might glitch to credits I will finish this ACE soon as possible (or will I?)
Post subject: RKO OUTTA NOWHERE
Spikestuff
They/Them
Editor, Publisher, Expert player (2630)
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6435
Location: The land down under.
Sure. In.
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account. Something better for yourself and also others.
Experienced player (643)
Joined: 11/23/2013
Posts: 2230
Location: Guatemala
Let me do a proper polished GBA TAS for once I wanna do it this time... Yeah boyee
Here, my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/dekutony
Post subject: Re: Dream Team Contest 6
AntyMew
It/Its
Encoder, Player (35)
Joined: 10/22/2014
Posts: 425
ThunderAxe31 wrote:
The emulator to use will be BizHawk 1.11.9.1 (or newer) using the mGBA core.
Oh. No Linux or OS X...
Just a Mew! 〜 It/She ΘΔ 〜
Warepire
He/Him
Editor
Joined: 3/2/2010
Posts: 2178
Location: A little to the left of nowhere (Sweden)
I'm in if a team will have me. Won't do much TASing, more RAM Search / Lua scripting etc. (Last year no one really wanted Lua scripts in my team...)
Editor, Reviewer, Skilled player (1352)
Joined: 9/12/2016
Posts: 1646
Location: Italy
Anty-Lemon wrote:
ThunderAxe31 wrote:
The emulator to use will be BizHawk 1.11.9.1 (or newer) using the mGBA core.
Oh. No Linux or OS X...
mGBA emulator is available for both OS you mentioned, so anyone who doesn't have Windows can still help by playing the game without using TASing tools. Edit: I mean, using a non-TASing emulator can make your able to study routes, tricks, memory addresses, etc. but you still need at least one team member that is able to use BizHawk 1.11.9.1 and create the movie file to submit.
my personal page - my YouTube channel - my GitHub - my Discord: thunderaxe31 <Masterjun> if you look at the "NES" in a weird angle, it actually clearly says "GBA"
keylie
He/Him
Editor, Emulator Coder, Expert player (2837)
Joined: 3/17/2013
Posts: 392
I'm totally in!
Editor, Expert player (2327)
Joined: 5/15/2007
Posts: 3927
Location: Germany
fsvgm777
She/Her
Senior Publisher, Player (225)
Joined: 5/28/2009
Posts: 1213
Location: Luxembourg
MUGG wrote:
Yes!
Gotta gather all of your (Metal) FORCE, yo! With that being said, count me in.
Steam Community page - Bluesky profile Oh, I'm just a concerned observer.
Editor, Expert player (2088)
Joined: 8/25/2013
Posts: 1200
Wait, signups are going until....April 22nd? That's a bit long, don't you think?
effort on the first draft means less effort on any draft thereafter - some loser
Editor, Reviewer, Skilled player (1352)
Joined: 9/12/2016
Posts: 1646
Location: Italy
arandomgameTASer wrote:
Wait, signups are going until....April 22nd? That's a bit long, don't you think?
Absolutely no, for these reasons: 1) The contest must not clash with AGDQ 2) Everyone at AGDQ will need their time to travel back to home 3) Someone may need a second Sunday to get enough free time to form a team and sign-up 4) The contest will last for 3 months, so the signing-up time should be proportional.
my personal page - my YouTube channel - my GitHub - my Discord: thunderaxe31 <Masterjun> if you look at the "NES" in a weird angle, it actually clearly says "GBA"
Editor, Expert player (2327)
Joined: 5/15/2007
Posts: 3927
Location: Germany
He means you have a wrong date in your first post.
Editor, Reviewer, Skilled player (1352)
Joined: 9/12/2016
Posts: 1646
Location: Italy
MUGG wrote:
He means you have a wrong date in your first post.
Fixed now.
my personal page - my YouTube channel - my GitHub - my Discord: thunderaxe31 <Masterjun> if you look at the "NES" in a weird angle, it actually clearly says "GBA"
Active player (457)
Joined: 1/28/2008
Posts: 143
Location: Germany
guess i´m in aswell :) GBx seems to be my destiny
2-do: Smurfs Nightmare, The (EU) GBC 10% fin : Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge improvement: submitted Mega Man II Improvement: submitted Mega Man IV Improvement: submitted Mega Man V Improvement: submitted future plan: -n-
Editor, Skilled player (1534)
Joined: 7/9/2010
Posts: 1319
What a 25 min game and only 3 month of worktime? Count me in for never finishing. Actually count me in.
Favorite animal: STOCK Gt(ROSA)26Sortm1.1(rtTA,EGFP)Nagy Grm7Tg(SMN2)89Ahmb Smn1tm1Msd Tg(SMN2*delta7)4299Ahmb Tg(tetO-SMN2,-luc)#aAhmb/J YouTube Twitch
Editor, Player (123)
Joined: 8/3/2014
Posts: 204
Location: USA
Hmmm... Okay I'll sign up.
Jules
Any
Skilled player (1169)
Joined: 7/13/2015
Posts: 102
Location: California
I'll join!
Arcree2
He/Him
Player (148)
Joined: 8/30/2016
Posts: 138
Location: France
I sign up :)
Projects: Genesis Crack Down 1 Player - Work In Progress
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